I was watching another TV programme about abuse in sports, and what came across very clearly was the damage and impact that any form of abuse can have both on the body and the mind. The adults, who were children when they were abused recanted their experiences of the abuse and how it manifested into eating disorders, long-term anxiety issues and depression as well as relationship problems in both their personal and social lives.

Questions must be raised about how such a divisive and abusive culture could be allowed to develop in any sport.

Recently Inquiries into Gymnastics, Rugby, Cricket and Football have shown that when poor organisational cultures exist, the voice of the child is never heard and parents, fellow coaches and volunteers are disempowered to be able to speak out about abuse.

The same was reported throughout the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse (IICSA), many faith-based organisations also displayed the same poor organisational culture that allowed abuse to occur, those entrusted to keep children and adults safe became enablers of abuse by turning a “blind eye” to what was happening, protecting the organisations reputation rather than protecting the children.

Our good friend Professor Amos Guiora has written an excellent book titled “Armies of Enablers” which examines several American sports organisations and the Catholic Church in Boston and interviewed survivors of abuse who decry those who were charged with protecting them within these institutions, many of the survivors stated that the betrayal by those entrusted to keep them safe was as bad as the abuse itself. Similarly, during a recent TV programme two Gymnastics coaches vented their anger about how they had reported significant concerns about two individuals; Stuart Woods and David Schadek, but in each instance, their concerns were not acted upon, yet years later both Stuart Woods and David Schadek were convicted and jailed for abusing children they were coaching. Can we be sure that lessons are being learned?

Remember “offending starts with offenders and enabling is facilitated by enablers”.

In sports and faith-based organisations, more focus on perpetrators and their behaviours is required, our good friend Craig Barlow states; “without perpetrators, there’s no risk” and many organisations have no focus on perpetrators within their risk management plans. Many people find it hard to talk or even think about perpetrators as no one would want to believe that they may harbour potential predators in their sports club or faith setting, but sadly review after review has shown that perpetrators target places where children and adults attend.

Dr Patrick Tidmarsh recently delivered a presentation at the NWG Network annual conference on the subject of perpetrator behaviour, I would fully recommend reading his book: “The Whole Story”, it’s a fascinating book which goes into the characteristics of sex offender behaviour and explores the issues which prevent children and adults reporting abuse, it’s a hard read at times but worth the investment…and no I’m not in for a retainer on sales!

One issue raised by a sports coach on the TV programme was parents who merely drop their children off at sports clubs and facilities but don’t have any conversations with anyone at the club, this is a situation we have heard on numerous occasions from our colleagues within the sports community, the NWG Network has developed a campaign called Safe to Play, the campaign utilises augmented reality as a new method of engaging parents whose children participate in sport or other physical activities.

The campaign video is based on an incident involving a sports coach and focuses on a family scenario, featuring three short vignettes from a sports coach, a parent and a child. Access to the suite of videos is available via scanning the Safe to Play Resources QR code below, the resources can be shared freely through your respective network, this is especially important as a two-week holiday period for children is fast approaching and many parents will be sending their children to sports clubs and physical activities…but how many will do their due diligence before “dropping“ their children at these sessions with adults that they do not know?

Our National Child Exploitation Awareness Day #CEADay24 draws near on March 18th 2024, below is a link to our “sway” packed with information about the campaign, and about the NWG Network and includes many links to useful and informative resources for you to download.

Click here for our #CEADay24 resources and information

The NWG Safeguarding in Sports Team are always happy to speak to colleagues from the sports community so if you have any questions about the content of this article, or would like any further assistance please contact a member of the team

Here are the links to the books that I mentioned earlier;

Professor Amos N Guiora’s “Armies of Enablers” https://armiesofenablers.com/

Dr Patrick Tidmarsh “The Whole Story” https://www.penguin.co.uk/books/438327/the-whole-story-by-tidmarsh-patrick/9781787334625

Kevin Murphy

Safeguarding in Sport Lead NWG Network

Office: 01332 585371

Mobile 07399 449045

Email: [email protected]

Secure Email: [email protected]